Sixty-seven years after the U.S MNT upset England 1-0 in the 1950 World Cup, England produced an upset of its own when they handed the World #1 USWNT a 1-0 loss in the second round of the 2017 SheBelievs Cup before a sold-out crowd in New Jersey’s Red Bull Arena. It was England’s first-ever WNT win on U.S. soil.
The winning goal came in the 90th minute, when England’s Ellen White scored off a rebound. The score began with a shot by Lucy Bronze, who slammed it into the crossbar. White was the first to find the ball, sending it past Ashlyn Harris for the game’s lone goal. It marked the first home loss for the USWNT.
U.S. coach Jill Ellis made seven changes to the lineup that beat Germany 1-0 on Wednesday, including giving midfielder Rose Lavelle her first start in her first national team appearance. The first half saw the Americans hold the edge in possession, spending much of their time near England’s penalty area. Despite that, the USWNT recorded only a single shot on goal, the same total as England.
England had the beter chances in the second half, forcing Harris to make two point-blank saves. Meanwhile, the USWNT. stayed close to goal yet again, but with little end product. The USWNT remained solid defensively and offensively on the night, but on England’s second corner, U.S. disorganization proved costly as the visitors capitalized for the winning goal.
Former US captain Christie Rampone was honored before the game, honoring the official end of the 19-year international career of the last remaining veteran of the 1999 FIFA World Cup championship.
Additional Notes:
- U.S. WNT head coach Jill Ellis made seven changes from the starting 11 that took the field against Germany on March 1, with only Sauerbrunn, Mewis, Dunn and Lloyd returning to the lineup.
- Ellis also made five substitutes with Allie Long, Tobin Heath, Christen Press, Morgan Brian and Lynn Williams all coming on in the second half.
- Last year’s SheBelieves Cup game was a tight one defensively on both sides with the USA firing seven shots to England’s six. The USA had three shots on goal to England’s two. But England had five corner kicks to the USA’s zero. This year’s affair was the opposite as both teams began attacking from the start with both the USA and England finishing with 14 shots each.
- Midfielder Rose Lavelle made her debut for the WNT, playing excellent soccer for the full 90 minutes. She became the first player to earn a first cap in 2017 and the 14th player to earn a first cap from Ellis. Lavelle was the first overall pick in the 2017 NWSL College Draft by the Boston Breakers.
- The backline of Becky Sauerbrunn, Julie Johnston and Ali Krieger started together for the first as a three-back. Sauerbrunn had been playing in a three-back consistently and in a starting role since Oct. 19, 2016. While Johnston and Krieger have also seen some playing time in that formation, this was their first official start in a three-person backline. Sauerbrunn earned her 121st cap, while Johnston earned her 46th, and Krieger got one closer to the 100 mark as she is earned cap No. 97 this evening. They all played the full 90 minutes.
- Samantha Mewis made her eighth career start and earned her 20th cap. For the second consecutive time, she played all 90 minutes in the SheBelieves Cup, playing full time against Germany on March 1 and Saturday against England.
- Crystal Dunn is quickly approaching the half century mark in caps and she made her 48th appearance for the WNT.
- Captaining the USA for the 34th time in her career was Carli Lloyd, who made her 234th international appearance. Lloyd, the most capped player on the U.S. team, is also the top goal-scorer with 96 career goals. Lloyd is just four away from becoming the sixth player in WNT history to score 100 or more goals.
- Lindsey Horan made her first start of the year and second appearance as she came in as a late second-half substitute against Germany on March 1.
- Mallory Pugh and Alex Morgan started up top. This was the first start for Pugh since Aug. 12 against Sweden at the 2016 Olympics and her 19th cap. Pugh spent most of last fall with the U-20 WNT as she captained the team at the U-20 FIFA WWC in Papua New Guinea.
-U.S. Women’s National Team Match Report-
Match: Women’s National Team vs. England
Date: March 4, 2017
Competition: SheBelieves Cup
Venue: Red Bull Arena; Harrison, N.J.
Kickoff: 5:22 p.m. ET
Attendance: 26,500
Weather: 26 degrees; chilly
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
USA 0 0 0
ENG 0 1 1
ENG – Ellen White 89th minute
Lineups:
USA: 24-Ashlyn Harris; 4-Becky Sauerbrunn, 8-Julie Johnston, 11-Ali Krieger; 19-Crystal Dunn (12-Lynn Williams, 64), 3-Samantha Mewis (20-Allie Long, 77), 9-Lindsey Horan (6-Morgan Brian, 77), 16-Rose Lavelle, 10-Carli Lloyd (capt.) (17-Tobin Heath, 76); 2-Mallory Pugh, 13-Alex Morgan (23-Christen Press, 63)
Subs not used: 1-Alyssa Naeher, 5-Kelley O’Hara, 7-Casey Short, 14-Jessica McDonald, 15-Emily Sonnett, 18-Jane Campbell, 22-Brianna Pinto
Head coach: Jill Ellis
ENG: 13-Siobhan Chamberlain; 3-Demi Stokes, 4-Lucy Bronze, 5-Steph Houghton (capt.), 7-Jordan Nobbs (8-Jade Moore, 90+3), 10-Izzy Christiansen (6-Millie Bright, 90+2), 15-Laura Bassett, 17-Fara Williams, 19-Toni Duggan (11-Ellen White, 76), 20-Karen Carney (18-Jill Scott, 63), 22-Nikita Parris (9-Jodie Taylor, 77)
Subs not used: 1-Karen Bardsley, 21-Mary Earps, 12-Rachel Daly, 14-Casey Stoney, 16-Gemma Bonner, 23-Rachel Williams
Head coach: Mark Sampson
Stats Summary: USA / ENG
Shots: 14 / 14
Shots on Goal: 2 / 3
Saves: 2 / 2
Corner Kicks: 2 / 2
Fouls: 11 / 7
Offside: 1 / 2
Misconduct Summary:
USA – Carli Lloyd (caution) 68th minute
Officials:
Referee: Quetzalli Alvarado (MEX)
Assistant Referee 1: Lixy Enriques (MEX)
Assistant Referee 2: Mayte Chavez (MEX)
4th Official: Lucila Venegas (MEX)